By Matt Noonan
Two weeks of New England NCAA Division II football season are in the books.
The story thus far has been the impressive play of Saint Anselm College quarterback Drew Willoughby.
For the second-straight week, the Austin, Texas native was named the Northeast-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Week after recording six touchdown passes this past weekend in the Hawks’ 56-7 victory over American International College (AIC).
The six-touchdown passes were a single-game home record, according to Monday’s NE10 weekly awards – he has now thrown nine touchdowns through two contests while completing 51 of 73 passes for 600 passing yards.
Willoughby’s is currently tied for first in NCAA Division II in passing touchdowns with Kellen Simoncic (Washburn University) and ninth in passing yards.
While Willoughby’s play has highlighted the Hawks’ 2-0 start, Saint Anselm has received contributions from other players, as well, including linebacker Taylor Pawelkoski, who leads the NE10 with three sacks. The Bradenton, Florida native currently leads the Saint Anselm defense in assists (12), total tackles (17.0), and tackles for a loss (4.5 for 30 yards).
Saint Anselm will attempt to win its third-straight contest on Saturday when they visit Franklin Pierce for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Other news and notes from the New England D-II Football World
- Bentley University provided first-year head coach Alvin Reynolds with his initial win as the Falcons soared past Pace University, 41-20.
Quarterback Mark Waid highlighted Bentley’s victory by rushing for a team-high 137 yards while tossing two touchdowns. Halfback Nate Larkins rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
Bentley celebrated 50 yards of Falcons football last Saturday.
The Falcons will entertain Post University on Friday, September 16 in what will be the first meeting between the two programs.
- After falling short of beating Bowie State in its season-opener, the University of New Haven rebounded to score its first victory of the 2022 season last Saturday.
The Chargers defeated crosstown rival Southern Connecticut, 31-26, thanks to its defense, which concluded the contest with five sacks. Additionally, New Haven stopped the Owls on two fourth down attempts while limiting them to 6 third down conversions.
Quarterback Connor Degenhard completed 13 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns while Christopher Ais rushed for a game-high 102 yards and one score.
Diante Wilson led the Southern Connecticut rushing attack with 87 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.
New Haven will compete against AIC this Saturday while Southern Connecticut will entertain Pace on Friday.
Team to Watch This Week: Southern Connecticut. Despite dropping its first two contests, the Owls proved last weekend that they will provide challenges for its remaining conference and non-conference foes. Keep your eyes on Southern Connecticut’s defense — I expect Robert Nunez, Joe Digello, and Hasan Dominick to keep the Owls in upcoming contests. Diante Wilson and wide receiver Tylon Papallo will certainly help the offense, especially this week against a Pace squad that is averaging 25.5 points per game this fall.
